Junkyard Ford 390 FE Teardown and Rebuild – Engine Power S7, E8

1. That’s only 1.29 hp per ci…..

2. Man I needed you guys 18 years ago when I had napa rebuild my 390. All I was able to do was Street avenger holly 4 Barrel and Dual plane Elderbrock intake and headers . I learned a lot but it had no more power than before!!!! It was fun messing around with it. But Not worth it!

3. Ya I remember taking my iron intake of my 390. It felt like 90 lbs.

4. What kind of car this engine fits into? Can I install it in a Ford F250 modesl 1967 to 1972?

5. The bumper bolt being in the water passage, cuz some one tried to blow up the dump truck for the company to replace it

6. What carburetor is that?

7. 75lb intake manifold?!! Christ

8. How can I get a list of parts on this build.

9. Well done 👍

10. That engine was fine, rebuild for a basic truck application and it would live a long life. Sad it probably got scrapped

11. Lift with your back, not your sack.

12. Love to see a 390 build with a turbo 😂 that would be crazy power levels

13. I wish they had those Trickflow intakes still in stock…I need one for my 390 👀

14. Some of these FEs need sleeves in the oil holes that feed oil to the heads because they run through water and rust through, then you have water in the oil !

15. This is a lesson for all of us engine builders, clean, then mag before machining !

16. The bolt in the water jacket is an old trick for corrosion. Sacrificial zinc bolt with rust before everything else did.

17. Is the exhaust calculated into the cfm measurement on the heads? I'll do some more research on my own ad well. Good job guys!

18. Got a brand new FE build THAT IS SOMEHOW GETTING OIL IN THE NUMBER FIVE CYLINDER FOULING OUT THE SPARK PLUG! Help!

19. I have a truck it can go in, a 1975 F350 dually

20. probably had 60k original miles on it 🤣 ford tuff

21. My brother and I rebuilt a 390 many moons ago in his 68 fastback to which we encountered cracks in the valve galley in the same spot as well as more cracks in the lower crank case using magna flux and a special light to see the cracks better. We didn't need the light the cracks were relatively large and yet did not leak. Strange thing was that when we used torque plates on both decks and torqued the main caps, the cracks closed up and were barely visible. moving forward I always magna flux first before any machine work begins. That clock became an anchor somewhere in the Hudson River LOL. We found a true replacement engine complete on City Island's junk yard in the Bronx and after a check with the block number and head casting numbers it was out of a 69 Mustang and was a true 428 SCJ engine! We paid $500 for the engine. We had the heads rebuilt to stock and then I realized that the motor may be valuable so i rebuilt it back to stock with all stock parts. I did balance the reciprocating assemble and blue print it. Then we went back to the Bronx and found another one still in the car, which was a wrecked 68 Shelby GT500KR with a 428 SCJ!!! The car was completely destroyed so all we could get was the engine tranny, and rear. Keep in mind this was 1984. I rebuilt the motor, replacing most of the parts like in this video. The only difference, was we went full MSD ignition. My brother took some of the body parts we saved from the wreck and after visiting many swap meets we we converted his car into a 68 Shelby replica. He wanted the dual carb package which i didn't like because they are a pain in the but to synch and jet correctly even on a dyno, but i did it. The Holley 850DP made more torque and slightly less HP. I like the torque better for off the line power and a much better idle on the single carb. Compromise. The engine made similar numbers on the dyno albeit slightly higher. LOL I am a Corvette guy and love them and when I raced that car at the track with my small block 75 Corvette, it destroyed me and my car ran a respectable 13.7et at 105 in the traps. His car ran L88 Corvette numbers in the low 11s. 11.2 at 122 in the traps and redlined he told me. We changed the rear gearing from 456:1 to 411:1 and it made negligible difference. The car still screamed to the redline with a higher trap speed, but slightly slower time. We then changed the 4spd top loader tranny's gearing because it was ridiculous and that was the secret sauce to getting that car to be a beast at the track, stop light, and making it very streetable. That 428 makes an amazing roar down the track. Not many big block V8's sound as good. (392/ 426 Hemi Chrysler sounds the best imo) One other note, with the 456:1 rear and original top loader, traction bars, and Mickey Thompson slicks, when launching the front wheels lifted slightly off the ground. After sitting in his garage for almost 10 years due to my brother being unable to drive because of a serious injury, he sold that car to his friend and told him to check everything especially the fuel lines before driving it. He didn't and while driving it home a fuel line ruptured on the NJ Turnpike burning the car to the ground. It was completely destroyed. He junked it and I tried to get that drive train, but someone else beat me too it. All good, had a great time and after that, have great respect for Ford power, back to my Corvettes. LOL

22. question.. what do you guys recommend for headers on my 2wd 1979 f150 with edelbrock heads on my FE? no one seems to make headers to fit the cobra jet sized exhaust ports on the edelbrock heads

23. That is the exact thing I wanna do for my 67 Thunderbird

24. Do you supply build sheets

25. Love the 390 fe!!
    Great motors!!

26. I’ve had cars with the FE block. 332,352,390 and 428. Except for the 428, all motors lasted over 200,000 miles. The 428, I am the 5th owner and it has a bad crank. My 390 came out of a 1967 country squire. That car was passed down since new. It was in 2 accidents before I got it. It had fords automatic reverse. If you left the car running in park, WITHOUT the parking brake engaged, it would shift itself into reverse, and find the nearest telephone pole! The first problem I had was on a trip, it started to run hot. This was from not being able to get gasoline with lead in it. Then after using a lead substitute, I had trouble getting the 99. Octane that Sunoco used to sell. Then I had to get octane boost. (60 cents a bottle). Then one day while driving, I heard a loud bang. Mechanic said the frame broke. The frame had been straightened twice before I got it. I saved the motor and C-6 trans. I was going to put them in My 66 T-bird, the one with the 428. Lost my job and the money I had for the car went to my mortgage payment. Never had a good paying job since, so the T-bird with the 428, the 390 and C-6 trans are still in the garage.

27. wonder what that motor cost

28. 13:13 anyone that struggles with sir clips for the wrist pins, get one side in and roll it in pressing it in the hole so much easier!

29. Wanna do my 390….?

30. The advances made in automotive machining is impressive. Never would I have thought that you could do all the overboring with just a hone.

31. I know the smell that engine made during teardown. I didn't expect that bumper bolt though.

32. Will someone tell me what FE stands for?

33. Who says those 390 FE's are dogs?

34. Fords always pulls good on the dyno..460 was your best. Long time ago

35. Can you avoid main cap distortion by torquing to factory specs?

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